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Compiled from wiresStephanie Cook /
October 3, 2000

Poll shows Americans support government role in public education

Washington - A new nationwide survey by the nonpartisan Center on Policy Attitudes shows public support for an active federal role in strengthening public schools. Respondents indicated strong support for federally sponsored testing, but only a small minority favored using test scores as a basis for withholding federal funds from low performers. About half favored vouchers to attend private and religious schools. This support dropped to 24 percent if it would result in money being diverted from public schools. A strong majority said the federal government should ensure a minimum level of spending per pupil in schools.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. - A new report suggests that sex-education class might not be as informative as students, educators, and parents wish. A survey of them found that students learned the basics about health and how babies are conceived, but said there need to be more lessons on helping young people avoid sex and pregnancy in the first place. It also found that 97 percent of parents want their kids taught how to deal with sexual assault; just 59 percent of students said the topic was covered in class. Nine in 10 parents want children to learn about birth control; 8 in 10 students say they already do.

Court gives colleges disciplinary control

A former Brandeis University student who claimed the school unfairly disciplined him after he was accused of rape lost his legal battle against the school in Massachusetts' highest court. The Supreme Judicial Court said the standards for a fair hearing that apply in court didn't apply in the disciplinary proceeding against David Schaer and that colleges should be given broad discretion in student disciplinary matters. Schaer, who graduated from Brandeis in 1997, was accused of raping a fellow student in her dorm room in 1996. He claimed the sex was consensual, and was never criminally charged. But Brandeis suspended him for four months, placed him on probation, and ordered him to undergo counseling. Schaer claimed the disciplinary process was flawed.